X-O Manowar (Valiant Entertainment)
| Alignment = | Gender = | Birthplace = Dacia | Status = Alive | Occupation = | Family = Saana (wife) Deidre (ex-wife, deceased) Rolf (father) Inga (mother) King Alaric (uncle) | Affiliations = Unity Visigoths | Creators = (original) (original) (reboot) (reboot) | First = Original: ( ) Reboot: ( ) | Last = }} Aric of Dacia (b. 375 AD), heir to the throne of the Visigoth people, has never known peace. After a brutal encounter with a mysterious enemy known as "The Vine" leaves him a prisoner on an alien world, the only hope Aric has of returning to his family and saving them from slavery is to seize a weapon of incalculable destruction and become X-O Manowar. History Blades and Open Fields In 402 AD, Aric of Dacia--the brash young heir to the Visigoth throne--led his fellow warriors into battle against the superior might of the Roman Empire. While the Visigoths fought valiantly, they were overwhelmed by the Romans and suffered a brutal defeat. Aric was further devastated when he discovered his father Rolf had been mortally wounded and his beloved wife Deidre, along with others, had been taken captive. In hopes of freeing their loved ones, Aric and a group of Visigoth warriors attacked a strange transport they believed held their families. However, the transport turned out to be a shuttle operated by a merciless alien race known as "The Vine." Overcome by the advanced weaponry, Aric and his best friend Gafti were captured and taken to a Vine colony ship in deep space. While attempting to escape, Aric and Gafti witnessed a Vine ceremony of worship for a suit of armor called "Shanhara." Before Aric and Gafti could learn more, they were recaptured by the brutal Commander Trill and sent to work as slaves in the Vine's deadly gardens. Escaping Eden Overcome with starvation, Gafti stole one of the alien fruits he was cultivating in the gardens. He was attacked by Vine guards, and when Aric rose to defend him, the guards severed Aric's hand as punishment for his insubordination. Years of subjugation ticked by, but Aric's quest to return to his loved ones never abated. Slowly, an escape plan was formed. The day finally came. Aric rallied his enslaved comrades, and they turned on their Vine masters. The men suffered heavy casualties, but managed to make it to the ceremony chamber in which Shanhara was held. Aric approached the mysterious armor, not knowing that it had killed all who had tried to wear it before. He reached out his hand, and the armor flowed around him, seeming to accept him as its new host and granting him extraordinary powers and abilities, even healing his lost hand. The Road to Rome Using his newfound strength, Aric defeated Trill and escaped from the colony ship. Aric was finally free, and he willed the armor to fly him to Earth--to Rome--where he would exact his revenge against the Roman Empire. There, on the sand of the Colosseum floor, he was confronted by scores of what he assumed to be Roman legionnaires. But what he did not realize is that he had somehow landed in present-day Italy, and the Roman Empire had been dead for centuries. Then & Now Despairing over a fight he could no longer win and a people he could not return to, Aric took to the sky and disappeared. He eventually learned that the Vine had been living on Earth for over a millenium, and had secretly infiltrated the highest levels of power, including the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). Clandestine Gatherings In an attempt to recapture the suit, the Vine dispatched a strike team into the Amazon Rainforest. The team--accompanied by a Vine planting named Alexander Dorian--confronted Aric, but was quickly destroyed by his hand. Only Alexander survived. The Vine then realized that against the universe's most powerful weapon, only the world's foremost weapons specialist would stand a chance. MI6 Chief Patrick Clement contracted the lethal agent known as "Ninjak" to bring the armor back. Ninjak lived up to his reputation, taking Aric by surprise and rendering him unconscious. Hunter & Hunted Unbeknownst to Ninjak was once the armor was in Vine hands, the Vine would unleash a full-scale invasion of Earth to rid the planet of humanity. Knowing this, Alexander betrayed the Council by freeing Aric. Alexander expressed to Aric his love for the indulgences of Earth, and had no desire to see them destroyed. Uneasy Alliances With an invasion fleet on the way, Ninjak teamed up with Aric and Alexander, and the three of them took the fight to MI6's headquarters Vauxhall Cross. Vauxhall Cross Aric attacked Vauxhall Cross to distract MI6 while Ninjak infiltrated the building and killed Clement. Eventually they found each other again and killed off the rest of the planting agents in British Intelligence. Personality Powers and Abilities Equipment Notes Appearances Gallery File:Aric of Dacia XO-Manowar-v3-1 001.jpg File:Aric of Dacia XO-Manowar-v3-1 002.jpg File:Aric of Dacia XO-Manowar-v3-2 001.jpg File:Aric of Dacia XO-Manowar-v3-13 001.jpg File:Aric of Dacia XO-Manowar-v3-13 002.jpg File:Aric of Dacia XO-Manowar-v3-16 001.jpg File:X-O Manowar XO-Manowar-v3-2 001.jpg File:X-O Manowar XO-Manowar-v3-6 001.jpg File:X-O Manowar XO-Manowar-v3-11 001.jpg File:X-O Manowar XO-Manowar-v3-16 001.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 1 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 1 Aja Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 1 Kevic-Djurdjevic Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 1 Nord Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 2 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 2 Lozzi Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 3 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 3 Suayan Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 4 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 4 Kramer Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 5 Zircher Variant X-O Manowar Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 6 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 6 Zircher Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 7 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 8 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 8 Hairsine Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 9 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 9 Crain Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 10 Nord Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 11 Crain Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 11 Nord Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 11 Rivera Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 12 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 12 Doe Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 13 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 13 Sook Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 14 8-Bit Variant.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 14 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 15 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 15 Crain Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 15 Kotaki Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 15 Ladronn Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 16 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 16 Bullock Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 17 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 17 Henry Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 18 8-Bit Variant.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 18 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 19 Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 19 Sears Variant Textless.jpg File:X-O Manowar Vol 3 20 Sepulveda Variant Textless.jpg Quotes References External links * Category:Visigoths Category:X-O Manowar